Rail-bond for electric railways.



No. 632,252. Patented sept. 5, 189?.

F. H. DANIELS.

RAIL BOND FOBA ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

(Application led June 27, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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Ninn STATES FREI) IIARRIS DANIELS, OF XVORCESTER, lVlASSAGI-IUSETTS.,

RAIL-BOND FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 632,252, datedseptember5, 1899.

Application med Jun.; 27, 1899.

To all whom. it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED HARRIS DANIELs, a citizen of the United States,anda resident of Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inRail- Bonds for Electric Railways and other Purposes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The rail-bond in which my invention is comprised is designed with moreparticular reference to its use on electric railways, and is of thattype in which the bond proper or connector between the two terminalsconsists of strands of copper wire twisted together in rope or cableform.

The object of the invention is to produce a bond in which the wire cableor rope is of so small diam eter that with very little flattening it canreadily go in between the rails and the j oint-plate or iish-plate whichbinds together the ends of adjoining rails, and, furthermore, to providesuch a construction as will admit of expansion and contraction of therail without disturbing the connections of the terminals with the rails.

To this end I form the body of the bond of wire rope in such manner thatthe rope when united to the terminals will in effect form an endlessloop, and I bring together the sides of this loop at a point in theirlength between the two terminals, so as to form, in effect, a bond inwhich there are two eyes or openings which not only admit the freepassage of the joint-bolts that secure the joint or iish plate to therails, but also amply allow for expansion and contraction of the rails.

The nature of my invention will be readily understood by reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation, andFig. 2 is an edge View, of one form of bond in partially-completedcondition. Figs. 3 and 4. are corresponding views of the completed bond.Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the bond as applied to the meeting ends oftwo rails with the joint or fish plate removed. Fig. 6 is across-section of the same with the tish-plates in place. Fig. 7 is aside elevation, and Fig. 8 is an edge view, of a modified form of thebond in incomplete condition. Figs. 9 and l0 are corresponding views ofthis modified form of bond in finished condition.

Serial No. 722,042. (No model.)

The bond in each instance is formed of two lengths c of wire rope ofcomparatively small diameter, which at their ends are united toterminals b, so as to form, in effect, an endless loop with parallel orapproximately parallel sides, which when the bond is in still uniinishedcondition are separated from one another by an interval practicallythroughout their entire length, as seen in Figs. l and 7. The terminalsb can be secured to the ends of the wire rope in any suitable manner-as,for example, they can be secured or Welded thereto by pressure, so as tobe substantially integral therewith in the manner set forth in myLetters Patent No. 582,849, of May 18, 1897.

In the form of bond shown in Figs. l to 6 the sides of the loop of thewire rope are brought together under pressure so as to lie side by sidethroughout their length except at the points where they remain spreadapart to form the two edges or openings c. These eyes or spread-apartportions permit expansion and contraction of the rails withoutdisturbing the connections of the terminals Z) with the rails, and theyare. also of sufficient dimensions to admit the free passage of thebolts m, Fig. 6, which bind the fish-plates N and rails R together.After the terminals of the bond are secure to the meeting ends of therails, as in Fig. 5, the fish-plates are applied and secured to therails by bolts, as seen in Fig. 6, the bonds being between thefish-plates and the rails. The small diameter of the wire rope of whichthe body of the bond is composed permits this to Vbe done with verylittle iiattening of the bond.

Y In the form of bond shown in Figs. 7 to 10 the two edges or openings care formed by twisting the loop-shaped incomplete bond into whatapproximately resembles the iigure 8, as will be readily understood byinspection of the figures referred to. The bond after having beenbrought to the loop shape shown in Fig. 7 has its sides at or near themiddle of their length brought together and then given a half-twist (ora turn of one hundred and eighty degrees) one on the other, and are thensubjected to pressure at their twisted meeting-point so as to flattenthem and reduce the thickness of the bond at that point. To make thebond in this way the ICO terminals Z1 in the incomplete bond must be soapplied as to face in opposite directions, as seen in Figs. 7 and 8, sothat when the loop is half-twisted, as in Figs. 9 and 10, the terminalswill, as seen in these figures, face in the saine direction. This bondis applied to the meeting ends of the rails in the same way asillustrated in the drawings with reierence to the other form of bond.

Having described my invention, what I claim herein as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

A rail-bond having a wire-rope loop-like

